Babak Habibnia

Dr. Babak Habibnia is a distinguished scholar with a wealth of academic and professional experience as a senior lecturer, a faculty member, and a postgraduate dissertation consultant (MS & PhD). He specializes in Project Management, Strategic Consulting, and advanced training in computer forensics, cybersecurity, and cybercrime investigation. With over 12 years of experience in higher education and research, along with more than a decade in industry and government roles on national and international platforms, Dr Habibnia has established himself as a leading authority in his field.

Currently, he serves as the Leader of the Scottish Academy at Wuxi Taihu University (SA-WTU) and as a [Senior] Lecturer in Computing, focusing on cybercrime and cybersecurity. Dr Habibnia has held notable academic positions at various universities, including UCD, NCD, SHU, LBU, and CEG, as well as at research centres such as CCCI, DfIRe, and CENTRIC. In these capacities, he has developed specialized training programs, built academic and industry partnerships, and introduced innovative teaching methods tailored to diverse audiences, including law enforcement.

For over seven years, Dr Habibnia has been involved in several classified European Commission projects (e.g., ASGARD, AIDA, FORSITE) as a Senior Lecturer, Postdoctoral Researcher, and Training Development Specialist in Cybersecurity and Counter-Terrorism.

Dr Babak Habibnia PhD in Computer Science with a specialization in Digital Forensics and his academic research focuses on redesigning digital forensics as a computer-assisted human activity: Computer-Aided Diagnostic of Digital Evidence Tampering (CADDET). Dr Babak Habibnia presents for the first time a new scientific semi-automated approach based on visualization of relevant data properties to help investigators detect digital evidence tampering and anomalies.  This is analogous to computer-aided processing of medical X-ray images that enhance the visibility of lesions facilitating easier detection by a doctor.

His research sheds new light and provides new insight to contribute to investigators to fill a gap in detecting digital evidence tampering and never been studied before. It is novel in the context of computer forensics. He got the award from the IRC (European Commission Funding) for his research proposal.

In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Habibnia has been actively engaged as an expert trainer with Interpol Global Cybercrime since 2016. He has contributed to various international projects, such as Project Scorpius, aimed at combating terrorism and transnational crime in South and Southeast Asia, and the Cybercrime Capacity Building Project in Singapore, where he played a key role in developing the first fully online training program for digital evidence management, designed for law enforcement agencies, judges, and juries.

Since November 2017, Dr. Habibnia has been invited to join the Europol Platform for Experts. He has also been selected as the Organization Community (OC), TCP, and Processing Chair for several prominent conferences, including DFRWS, ICDF2C, and CSW.

Through his extensive contributions, he has significantly advanced the fields of digital forensics, cybersecurity, and cybercrime investigation, promoting innovation and collaboration on a global scale.